Five men convicted of charges related to the death of a 20-year-old Bowling Green State University student in March 2021 were sentenced in Ohio on Thursday, three of whom received up to 28 days in prison.
The men, between the ages of 20 and 22, were among eight who were convicted in connection with the death of Stone Foltz, who died three days after attending an off-campus Pi Kappa alpha fraternity initiation . Prosecutors said he drank a liter of whiskey at the event.
Wood County prosecuting attorney Paul A. Dobson said he was glad the court agreed that “some of the people involved in this case need to be seen inside a prison cell.” To finally start seeing the matter come closer, he said, was gratifying.
But Mr Foltz’s parents, Corey and Shari Foltz, said in a statement released on Thursday that the sentence of five could be a foregone conclusion for some, unless “permanently abolished” on college campuses. Till then there will be no closure for his family. ,
“Universities and Greek organizations must be held accountable,” he said, adding that it was not just his own son, but many other students who were “tragically injured or killed because those in power refused to protect them.” used to do.”
Stone Foltz was 20 when he died last year after a fraternity initiation. Credits…Foltz Family
On March 4, 2021, Mr. Foltz, a business chief from Delaware, Ohio, described what prosecutors as a mandatory fraternity program where new members, so-called “younger” or “younger brothers”—most of them younger. – Each was given a bottle of about one liter of wine, which was expected to drink. According to prosecutors, Stone Foltz “consumed a one-liter bottle of Evan Williams 86 Proof Bourbon.”
Later that evening, he was taken to his apartment and left unconscious by a fraternity member, Jacob Krin, and several others, prosecutors said. When paramedics arrived at Mr Foltz’s apartment, his roommate was performing CPR, but Mr Foltz was no longer breathing, he said. He was taken to Wood County Hospital and later transferred to Toledo Hospital, where he died on March 7.
The Lucas County coroner dismissed his death as “fatal ethanol intoxication during a hedging incident.” Prosecutors said that during the police investigation, several members of the fraternity lied to investigators and destroyed both physical and electronic evidence.
The five defendants sentenced Thursday in Wood County Common Pleas Court had previously pleaded guilty to various charges that included reckless manslaughter, smuggling and tampering with evidence.
On Thursday, 20-year-old Jarrett Prissel, an assistant teacher to new members of the fraternity, was sentenced to 28 days in prison and two years of probation. Fraternity chapter president Daylen Dunson, 22, was sentenced to 21 days in prison and three years of probation. The fraternity’s vice president, 22-year-old Niall Sweeney, was sentenced to 14 days in prison and two years of probation.
Sergeant-at-Arms of the fraternity, 22-year-old Benjamin Boyers, was sentenced to two years’ probation. Aaron Lehane, 22, who, along with Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Boyers, was a resident of the house where the event took place, also received two years of probation.
The five men were sentenced to 28 days of electronic home monitoring and 100 hours of community service.
In a statement released on Thursday, prosecutors said the court could have ordered jail time for all defendants except Mr Lehane, but kept them “in reserve” until the successful completion of their probation. The court “suspended jail time on Mr Lehane,” prosecutors said, pending compliance with the terms of his probation.
He said the defendants had cooperated with the prosecution, including testifying against two other men convicted, Mr. Krin and Troy Henriksen.
Mr Krin, 21, and Mr Henriksen, 24, were found guilty of hedging and failing to comply with alcohol laws at a young age. Mr. Krin was also found guilty of obstructing official business.
The two men as well as 22-year-old Canyon Caldwell, who pleaded guilty and testified at the trial, will be sentenced over the next several weeks.
“Sadly, there is no winner in this situation,” said attorney Rex Elliott, representing Mr. Foltz’s parents, in a separate civil complaint against Bowling Green State University. “The Foltz family has lost their son, and these children are sentenced today – it’s going to be on their record forever.”
Mr Elliott said he planned to file the complaint next week. Mr. Elliot said the Pi Kappa alpha hedging ritual had been going on for many years.
“It’s no secret what’s involved and they did nothing to stop it,” Mr Elliott said of the university.
